Across a Universe
by DutchLady
Summary: A little one-shot story I wrote. Since it's short, no summary. You'll just have to read and review it.


Across a Universe

The Doctor was dying, he knew he was. He felt the pain in every part off his body. His legs felt they were tingling like pins and needles. He would regenerate into his eleventh body. Deep down in his hearts he was glad. Glad that this life was over. All the pain that he had suffered in this life, at times it was almost too much.

All of his friends flashed in his mind, Rose, Mickey, Jackie, Jack, Martha and Donna. His brilliant Donna. He was so glad he had been able to fix her memory. It had taken him ten years to figure it out, only two months for Donna and her family. But he had saved her, like he always tried to do with all his friends. Except maybe Jack, he didn't need saving. He thought at least. Maybe his next self could cope with Jack's immortality better then he could. He could only hope.

And Rose, his Rose. He never told her how he felt. Looking her in the eye and just say those three words. Those three words she desperately wanted to hear. But those words he could never say, because then he would be lying. His hearts belonged to someone else. Now he never could tell her the truth. But his brother could. He always had thought of the other Doctor as his brother. Bit strange to leave something like that to another man, but he couldn't change that. He knew that his brother would tell her everything, they had agreed. The Doctor had moved on travelling, sometimes his love went with him and sometimes she staid home. They had confessed their feelings and had been together for five months now. He didn't like being without her, but he would always go back to Earth for her. And thank heavens he didn't have to go through this regeneration alone. His true love was with him.

The Doctor felt Martha Jones' hands on his arm. He had made it to her in the nick of time. He had crashed the Tardis in her garden. She had come running out and had found him on the floor of the console room. He had told her that he was dying and that he was going to regenerate. After it was completed Martha had to bring him to his bedroom and just look after him. His body would do the rest. He had apologized in advance for anything he might do after his regeneration. It was something that was natural for him, but it didn't make it easier.

He felt the energy taking control. He looked Martha in the eye, putting all the love he felt for in that last look. Without needing a word she backed away. And then the tenth Doctor was no more.

DWDWDWDW

In another universe John Smith didn't feel very well. There was a dull pain in his chest. Covering his heart and where he could remember once feel his second heart beat in his chest. He had begun to think about the Doctor like he was his brother. He even suspected that the Doctor thought the same of him. Even if they were basically the same person. But brother made it easier to think about. Now he may not be a Time Lord like his brother, but he was just as smart (make that genius) as him. So John knew what was happening. The Doctor was regenerating. That life was now over.

It felt a bit strange to know that his brother was dead, but in a way still alive. He just looked different now. He wondered what he would look like now. Was he still tall and skinny as a rake? Did he still have brown hair, or did he finally get his wish and had he become ginger? How old would he look? Mid-thirties or maybe older or even younger? Who knew? He would never find out.

He turned over in bed to wake his wife so he could tell her. But realised she wasn't there; she was on duty in the hospital. He had married Martha Jones.

After telling Rose the truth about the Doctor's feelings, she had gone ballistic. She had even hit him. Everything she could do to vend her feelings that the Doctor and 'the clone' standing on front of her didn't love her anymore. During her rant, John had glanced at her mother Jackie and even she couldn't believe what Rose was saying. She had instructed John to leave. He had complied and had never seen Rose again. He had gone to Torchwood and had destroyed everything he could find regarding the dimension cannon. He knew that Rose would one day try and return to her real universe to get the truth out of the Doctor. Both universes would collapse and billions would die, just so she could get answers. He couldn't allow that.

He had met the Martha Jones of this universe when he had been admitted to the hospital with appendicitis. He thought at the time it was a big cosmic joke that the Doctor would meet Martha Jones with faked abdominal pain and he would meet his Martha with real abdominal pain. The world was very strange indeed.

They had started dating. Because this world almost had been converted to Cybermen, Martha had believed his story. Fantastic that it was. They had married three months ago. Martha was expecting their first child.

DWDWDWDW

During his regeneration the Doctor got a very brief glimpse of John's life. Standing at the altar with Martha, seeing Martha stand in the doorway of the bathroom with the pregnancy test with a dazed expression on her face. The Doctor only remembered it 24 hours later, when the regeneration had finally truly ended.

He told Martha what he had seen, and then his Martha had shown him a pregnancy test with the same dazed expression on her face.

THE END


End file.
